So, is coconut oil good or not good for you? What about Keto?

[Mai72]

Just entered the world of Keto this week. It's so confusing, because you read that this is the correct way. That's bad. No this is bad. You should never do Intermittent fastening with Keto. IF works amazingly well with Keto. Keep your carbs at 20 grams and under. No, you can go a bit higher. Do this. Don't do that. Etc.

Coconut oil is something that most people who are on Keto swear by. It's supossed to be the "good fat." I just ate 50 grams of it today. It's pretty awesome. Taste great and it's supposed to be a superfood. But, this article that was just released states that coconut oil is bad for you! Check it out.

http://www.health.com/syndication/coconut-oil-saturated-fat-unhealthy-poor-sales

There aren't many people that I watch on YT for Keto. I find that many are just bullsh*tters who don't know much and are just spreading false info. I do follow this one YTber who goes by the name Stephanie Keto Person and she's been on Keto for over 8 years. When she first started she was eating 400 grams of fat and currently eats about 200 grams of "good fat." A video of her morning meal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMXtYKV9k8k

It's crazy. She has 6 slices of butter. Fat added to more fat. Bacon fat. Coconut oil. Here is the thing though. She's 50 years old and looks pretty good. She attributes looking young to Keto and her high fat diet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDcKljwxfBc

Anyways, your opinons on this are greatly appreciated. Thxs.

 

[UsandThem]

I don't mess with coconut oil. I looked at the calorie/fat content many years ago when it was becoming the newest "it" item, and said no way once I compared it to other oils. A few years back I saw these reports and that was enough for me to not really use it.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/coconut-oil

https://news.heart.org/saturated-fats-why-all-the-hubbub-over-coconuts/

 

[IEC]

Too much water can kill you. Too little water can kill you.

Too much salt in your extracellular fluid can kill you. Too little salt in your extracellular fluid can kill you.

The point is, moderation is key to any diet. Especially portion sizes.

Absent a serious metabolic condition (which would have you seeing a physician because of the severity of the symptoms) almost any diet will work as long as calories burned exceeds calories eaten. It's not rocket science, it's just difficult to beat bad habits. Keto works for some people simply because it is easier for them to feel fuller longer (fats are digested more slowly than carbs) while consuming fewer calories.

But there are risks: If you have familial hypercholesterolemia or other lipidemias, eating lots of coconut oil and other fats is probably a bad idea. Even if you don't, loading up on the fats probably isn't a good idea long term.

The ideal would be to to speak with a registered dietician who can help you come up with a diet plan that will work for you while ensuring you get all the macro and micro nutrients you need.

 

[pete6032]

She's got notebooks and data and a sassy lady finger wag. She must be right.

 

[mike8675309]

Keto works if you keep carbs under 50g per day, sometimes as low as 30g. Take in too many carbs and you're just eating a high fat diet that any extra calories beyond what you need will be stored as fat. Plus when you eat lots of fat when not restricting carbs you will have all the negative health results of fat intake. There are not studies out there to validate, but the general anecdotal idea of keto is that in ketogenesis your body will use dietary fat intake as fuel and this breakdown of the fats for fuel reduces the the negative effects normally associated with high fat diets.
Coconut oil is no better or worse than any other vegetable oil based on the studies I've seen. Too much saturated fat for a non keto person to be eating much of it.

I did find this study that is a bit concerning for Keto diets. One of the contributors to heart disease is thought to be the stiffening of our arteries, the endothelium, as it has been found that just after a fatty meal (standard american diet) the endothelium will stiffen and become less flexible.
This study from 2014 indicates that a ketogenic diet still results in artery stiffening
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059131113003397

In the present study, we examined children and young adults affected by drug resistant epilepsy treated with ketogenic diet for a mean time period of two years and found that local and systemic arterial stiffness was significantly increased compared with a matched control group, and related to serum cholesterol and triglycerides levels.

This data was independent of age, arterial pressure, gender, and anticonvulsant therapy. Furthermore, left ventricule’ relative thickness and diastolic function were worse in patients treated with ketogenic diet than controls.

Here is a comment on that study that helps to put some context around it. Obviously more research is needed around Keto.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4325592/

Obviously, it is too early to sound any alarm on the effects of diets on blood vessels. However, it serves to highlight the need for more studies examining potential silent adverse effects. Selenium deficiency in ketogenic diet patients may cause prolonged QT intervals and lead to cardiomyopathy (9). Vitamin D deficiency and acidosis can affect bone mineral density and eventually lead to fractures (10). Cardiovascular disease should be no exception, and as more adults start dietary therapies, there will likely be more studies such as this in the “pipeline.”

 

[deadlyapp]

IEC basically hit the nail on the head. You need to ignore the noise around fats - having a good mix of different fats while also consuming a good blend of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty foods is really the best way to go. Sticking to one single fat or consuming specifically fats that are high in saturated fat is not a good way to go.

I use a variety of coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil for cooking; fish oil for supplementation; avocados, nuts, nut butters, and fatty fish for fatty foods. I try to avoid fatty red meats (bacon, fatty beef, etc) and try to avoid any vegetable oils (canola, vegetable, etc)

 

[skyking]

I lean pretty hard on avocado oil for general purposes, and get my saturated fats from more tasty things like chocolate. It's a win-win for me.
If I do indulge in coconut fats, it's in thai food. More win

 

[PeterScott]

IEC basically hit the nail on the head. You need to ignore the noise around fats - having a good mix of different fats while also consuming a good blend of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty foods is really the best way to go. Sticking to one single fat or consuming specifically fats that are high in saturated fat is not a good way to go.

I use a variety of coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil for cooking; fish oil for supplementation; avocados, nuts, nut butters, and fatty fish for fatty foods. I try to avoid fatty red meats (bacon, fatty beef, etc) and try to avoid any vegetable oils (canola, vegetable, etc)

Actually I think Mike hit the nail on the head. High fat is apparently not great for the arteries.

Even supposed health food Extra Virgin Olive Oil impairs arterial function for many hours after consumption.

The problems seems to be eating concentrated oil. I consider it a processed food, and try to minimize consumption. This applies to all concentrated oils.

OTOH there is apparently no such issue eating Olives, Nuts, Avocados, and many other fat rich natural foods.

Eat whole Food, not isolated components as much as possible.

I would only go near Keto, as the diet of last resort if you really need to lose weight and you can't achieve it any other way. Significant weight loss could trump the negatives of eating high fat.